17.12.2010

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 333/6

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1794/2006 (3) lays down the necessary measures for the development of a charging scheme for air navigation services that is consistent with the Eurocontrol Route Charges System. The development of a common charging scheme for air navigation services provided during all phases of flight is of the utmost importance for the implementation of the single European sky. The scheme should achieve greater transparency with respect to the determination, imposition and enforcement of charges to airspace users and cost efficiency in providing air navigation service. It should also encourage efficiency of flights while maintaining an optimum safety level and stimulate integrated service provision.

(2)

In order to ensure that the overall objective of improving the cost efficiency of air navigation services is effective, the charging scheme should promote the enhancement of cost and operational efficiencies in consistency with and in support of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1794/2006 needs to be updated in order to translate the financial consequences of the performance scheme into the charging scheme, particularly with regard to the cost and traffic risk sharing mechanisms as well as the incentive schemes described in Commission Regulation (EU) No 691/2010 of 29 July 2010 laying down a performance scheme for air navigation services and network functions and amending Regulation (EC) No 2096/2005 laying down common requirements for the provision of air navigation services (4). Regulation (EC) No 1794/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4)

Appropriate provisions should be provided to ensure a smooth transition to the updated charging scheme.

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Single Sky Committee,

1)

Article 1 is amended as follows:

2)

In Article 2 the following points are added:

3)

In Article 3, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:

‘�. The charging scheme shall be subject to the principles set out in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004.

2. The determined costs of en route air navigation services shall be financed by en route charges imposed on users of air navigation services in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III and/or other revenues.

3. The determined costs of terminal air navigation services shall be financed by terminal charges imposed on users of air navigation services, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III, and/or other revenues. These may include cross-subsidies granted in accordance with Union law.‘�

4)

In Article 4, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:

‘�. An en route charging zone shall extend from the ground up to, and including, upper airspace. Member States may establish a specific zone in complex terminal areas within a charging zone.

4. Where charging zones extend across the airspace of more than one Member State, which may be a consequence of the creation of a common charging zone in a functional airspace block, the Member States concerned shall ensure consistency and uniformity in the application of this Regulation to the airspace concerned to the maximum possible extent.

Where uniform application of this Regulation to the airspace concerned is not possible, Member States shall inform users of such differences in application of this Regulation in a transparent manner and shall notify the Commission and Eurocontrol of such differences.‘�

5)

In Article 5, paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:

‘�. Member States may establish the following costs as determined costs, in accordance with Article 15(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004, where they are incurred as a result of the provision of air navigation services:

3. In accordance with Article 15a (3) of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004, without prejudice to other sources of funding and in accordance with Union law, part of the revenue resulting from the charges may be used to fund common projects for network-related functions that are of particular importance for the improvement of the overall performance of air traffic management and air navigation services in Europe. In such cases, Member States shall ensure that comprehensive and transparent accounting practices are in place so as to ensure that airspace users are not charged twice. Those determined costs which fund the common project shall be clearly identified in accordance with Annex II.‘�

6)

Article 6 is amended as follows:

7)

In Article 7 (2), the following subparagraph is added:

‘楩or the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph, Member States shall, before the start of each reference period, define the criteria used to allocate costs between terminal and en route services for each airport, and inform the Commission thereof.‘�

8)

Article 8 is replaced by the following:

‘楢rticle 8

Transparency of costs and of the charging mechanism

1. Member States shall, at the latest six months before the start of each reference period, offer to consult with the airspace users‘�representatives on determined costs, planned investments, service unit forecasts, charging policy and resulting unit rates and shall be assisted by the air navigation service providers. Member States shall, in a transparent manner, make their national or functional airspace blocks costs established in accordance with Article 5 and their unit rates available to airspace users‘�representatives, the Commission and, where applicable, Eurocontrol.

During the reference period, Member States shall, on an annual basis, offer to consult with airspace users‘�representatives on any deviation from the forecast, especially with regard to:

The consultation may be organised on a regional basis. Airspace user representatives shall retain the right to request more consultation. User consultation shall also be organised systematically following the activation of an alert mechanism generating a revision of the unit rate.

2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be based on the reporting tables and detailed rules set out in Annexes II and VI, or, where a Member State at national or functional airspace block level has decided not to calculate determined costs or terminal charges or not to set terminal unit rates in accordance with Article 1(6), the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be based on the reporting tables and detailed rules set out in Annex III. The relevant documentation shall be made available to the representatives of airspace users, the Commission, Eurocontrol and national supervisory authorities three weeks before the consultation meeting. For the annual consultation referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, the relevant documentation shall be made available to the representatives of airspace users, the Commission, Eurocontrol and national supervisory authorities each year, no later than 1 November.‘�

9)

Article 9 is amended as follows:

10)

Articles 10 and 11 are replaced by the following:

‘楢rticle 10

Calculation of en route charges

1. Without prejudice to the possibility pursuant to Article 3(2) of financing en route air navigation services through other revenues, the en route charge for a specific flight in a specific en route charging zone shall be equal to the product of the unit rate established for that en route charging zone and the en route service units for that flight.

2. The unit rate and the en route service units shall be calculated in accordance with Annex IV.

Article 11

Calculation of terminal charges

1. Without prejudice to the possibility pursuant to Article 3(3) of financing terminal air navigation services through other revenues, the terminal charge for a specific flight in a specific terminal charging zone shall be equal to the product of the unit rate established for this terminal charging zone and the terminal service units for that flight. For charging purposes, approach and departure shall count as a single flight. The unit to be counted shall be either the arriving or the departing flight.

2. The unit rate and the terminal service units shall be calculated in accordance with Annex V.‘�

11)

The following Article 11a is inserted:

‘楢rticle 11a

Risk sharing

1. This Article lays down the traffic and cost risk sharing mechanisms. It shall apply in accordance with the principles referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 691/2010.

2. The following costs shall not be submitted to traffic risk sharing and shall be recovered irrespective of traffic evolution:

In addition, Member States may exempt from traffic risk sharing the determined costs of providers of air navigation services which have received permission to provide air navigation services without certification, in accordance with Article 7(5) of Regulation (EC) No 550/2004.

3. Where, over a given year, the actual number of service units does not exceed or fall below the forecast established at the beginning of the reference period by more than 2 %, the additional revenue or loss in revenue of the air navigation service provider with regard to determined costs shall not be carried over.

4. Where, over a given year n, the actual number of service units exceeds the forecast established at the beginning of the reference period by more than 2 %, a minimum of 70 % of the additional revenue obtained by the air navigation service provider(s) concerned in excess of 2 % of the difference between the actual service units and the forecast with regard to determined costs shall be returned to airspace users no later than in year n+2.

Where, over a given year n, the actual number of service units falls below the forecast established at the beginning of the reference period by more than 2 %, a maximum of 70 % of the loss in revenue incurred by the air navigation service provider(s) concerned in excess of 2 % of the difference between the actual service units and the forecast with regard to determined costs shall be borne by the airspace users in principle no later than in year n+2. However, Member States may decide to spread the carry -over of such loss in revenue over several years with a view to preserving the stability of the unit rate.

5. The allocation of traffic risk referred to in paragraph 4 shall be set by the national or functional airspace block performance plan for the entire reference period, following the consultation referred to in Article 8.

6. Where, over a given year n, the actual service units are lower than 90 % of the forecast established at the beginning of the reference period, the full amount of the loss in revenue incurred by the air navigation service provider(s) concerned in excess of the 10 % of the difference between the actual service units and the forecast in respect of determined costs shall be borne by the airspace users in principle no later than in year n+2. However, Member States may decide to spread the carry-over of such loss in revenue over several years with the view to preserving the stability of unit rate.

Where, over a given year n, the actual service units exceed 110% of the forecast established at the beginning of the reference period, the full amount of the additional revenue obtained by the air navigation service provider(s) concerned in excess of the 10% of the difference between the actual service units and the forecast in respect of determined costs shall be returned to airspace users in year n+2.

7. Air navigation service providers without any equity capital or with equity capital not exceeding 5 % of total liabilities as of 31 December 2011 may be exempt of traffic risk sharing during the first reference period, in order to allow achieving a lower proportion of debt financing. Those air navigation service providers exempt from traffic risk sharing shall be specified in the performance plan for review by the Commission and in the additional information to be provided in accordance with Annex II. Member States shall describe and justify the measures planned to achieve the lower proportion of debt financing and their timing.

8. The following principles shall apply to cost risk sharing:

Without prejudice to Article 6(1), third subparagraph, a list of uncontrollable cost factors shall be determined by the national supervisory authority from the list set out in points (i) to (v) of the first subparagraph and shall form part of the performance plan.

Where, over the whole reference period, actual costs are lower than the determined costs established at the beginning of the reference period, the resulting difference shall be returned to airspace users through a carry-over to the following reference period.

Where, over the whole reference period, actual costs exceed the determined costs established at the beginning of the reference period, the resulting difference shall be passed on to airspace users through a carry-over to the following period. The national supervisory authority concerned shall explicitly agree to the carry-over after having ascertained that:

The amount carried over shall be specified by factors and described in the additional information to be provided in accordance with Annex VI.‘�

12)

In Article 12, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:

‘�. Member States, at national or Functional Airspace Block level, may, on a non-discriminatory and transparent basis, establish or approve incentive schemes to support improvements in the provision of air navigation services or the reduction of the environmental impact of aviation, resulting in a different calculation of charges pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3. Those incentives may apply to air navigation service providers or airspace users.

2. In accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 691/2010, Member States, at national or functional airspace block level, may adopt financial incentives for the achievement of performance targets by their air navigation service providers. The unit rate may be adjusted to provide for a bonus or penalty according to the actual performance level of the air navigation service provider against the relevant target. Such bonuses or penalties shall only be activated where performance variations have a substantive impact on users. The applicable level of bonuses and penalties shall be commensurate with the targets to be reached and the performance achieved. The performance variation levels and the applicable level of bonuses and penalties shall be determined following the offer to consult referred to in Article 8 and set by the national or functional airspace block performance plan.

3. Where a Member State decides to apply an incentive scheme with respect to users of air navigation services, it shall, following the offer to consult referred to in Article 8, modulate charges incurred by them to reflect efforts made by those users to, in particular:

13)

Article 13 is amended as follows:

14)

In Article 14, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘�. Member States may collect charges through a single charge per flight. Where charges are billed and collected on a regional basis, the billing currency may be the Euro and an administrative unit rate remunerating billing and collection costs may be added to the unit rate concerned.‘�

15)

Article 15 is deleted.

16)

In Article 17 the introductory part of the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘楢ir navigation service providers shall facilitate inspections and surveys by the national supervisory authority or by a qualified entity acting on the latter‘檚 behalf, including site visits. The authorised persons shall be empowered:‘�

17)

The following Article 17a is inserted:

‘楢rticle 17a

Review

The review by the Commission of the performance scheme, referred to in Article 24 of Regulation (EU) No 691/2010 shall include the risk sharing mechanism set up in Article 11a of this Regulation, the incentive schemes set up pursuant to Article 12 of this Regulation, and their impact and effectiveness in achieving the set performance targets.‘�

18)

Annexes I to VI are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.